In Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson's peculiar film, naturalism and absurdity go hand in hand, while they can.
In the Los Angeles dramedy "Serious People," remarkable naturalism and colossal absurdity coexist. However, as interesting as this tension is, the novelty of the film's tonal dissonance ultimately fades due to a story of swapped identities without a clear end goal.
Directors: Pasqual Gutierrez, Ben Mullinkosson
Writer: Pasqual Gutierrez
Stars: Spencer Creigh, Belinda Downey, Pasqual Gutierrez
The film, by directors Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson, begins in an exciting and mysterious way, with several unknown Latino actors auditioning for a very unconventional role: that of the director who is selecting them, Pasqual (played by the film's co-director, Gutierrez). The potential candidates are glimpsed, and they are of different types and sizes, with widely varying levels of skill; One of them, Miguel (Miguel Huerta), a bodybuilder and aspiring social media celebrity, arrives with just the right amount of arrogance, perfectly feigned bravado, and a striking physical resemblance to Pasqual (accentuated by the shiny sunglasses they both wear).
When asked about his philosophy on directing, Miguel dodges the question, jovially replying, "I just have to be like you." This elicits a smile from Pasqual, though his retort could be misinterpreted as "I just have to beat you," a foreshadowing of what's to come.
The reasons for this strange job interview are revealed in a flashback, when Pasqual and his directing partner, Raúl (Raúl Sánchez), are hired to direct the next music video for rap superstar Drake, presented as a major step forward for the duo. The film was shot months before the infamous (and clearly disproportionate) feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, but the fact that the rapper has become the butt of jokes ever since makes the premise all the funnier.
However, Pasqual's plan has a hitch. His pregnant wife, Christine (played by Gutiérrez's real-life wife, Christine Yuan, who was pregnant during production), is due to give birth on the day of filming, preventing him from being present. To get what he wants, Pasqual devises a crazy scheme: hiring the enthusiastic Miguel to stand in for him during the shoot, despite Raúl's reluctance.
Gutiérrez and Mullinkosson demonstrate a masterful command of technique in these metatextual gags, a Herculean feat given the film's (for better or for worse) sense of improvisation. Between its long, insightful takes and unusual close-ups that draw the eye in surprising ways, "Serious People" is charming even before Miguel enters the scene. When he does—becoming practically Pasqual's shadow during meetings and location scouting—the would-be director unleashes boisterous (and often flirtatious) antics that foreshadow how badly this plan will go awry.
Throughout the story, Pasqual expresses his anxiety about impending fatherhood, including a fear of a dissociation of consciousness before and after his son's birth: the inability to remember who he was before having a child. Miguel's presence externalizes these uncertainties, but this doesn't mean "Serious People" is blatantly metaphorical (despite echoes of Denis Villeneuve's double-dealing thriller "Enemy").
However, by hinting at this theme of duality, the film raises expectations about what Miguel might ultimately represent for Pasqual. As Miguel slowly veers off course during his own power grab as a director—infuriating Raúl in the process—the idea of a pompous and persistent creative ego emerges. This sets the stage for a series of amusing and risqué exchanges with people who have the power to make or break Pasqual's career. Gradually, these complications escalate, until… well, until nothing in particular happens.
There's a surprising abruptness (and emptiness) with which "Serious People" concludes its main plot. It's a film with flashes of interesting ideas, but it fails to fully develop them, expressing, through its comedy, only the most rudimentary forms of paternal and creative anxieties before bringing the story to a close. For a film so clearly personal—filtering reality through the improbable and born from spontaneous conversations between friends—it ultimately lacks a satisfying or personal purpose, despite its numerous amusing situations. Ironically, its only merit lies in the surreal scale of its focus on Drake (to the point of hiring a double), which largely becomes absurd and hilarious thanks to events completely unrelated to him.
Comments
Post a Comment